(The Center Square) – A North Carolina House committee had its first look Wednesday at a bill to appropriate an additional $500 million for Hurricane Helene recovery.
The proposed legislation, which was reviewed by the House Select Committee on Helene Recovery, was described as a “shell” bill, likely to be revised.
The committee will meet again on Tuesday for additional work on the bill.
“Today is not a day to put forth your concerns or questions,” State Rep. John Bell, co-chairman of the committee said Wednesday. “We will have time for that on Tuesday. Today is the day to start the process of putting together a full appropriations bill.”
The House committee members have been discussing the legislation with the members of the state Senate and the governor’s office, Bell said. The goal is to “help the citizens of western North Carolina and take the politics out of it.
He acknowledged that, “No matter what appropriation we we’re able to do, it’s never going to be enough. But this is a starting point with multiple bills after this to follow.”
The initial bill review Tuesday includes $150 million for home reconstruction and repairs; $150 million for agriculture restoration projects and assistance; $100 million for private road and bridge repairs and replacements; $60 million for repair of state facilities, including state parks and prisons; and $20 million for debris removal.
There is $10 million each for Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster, known as VOADs, and for volunteer fire departments in the affected area.
The Legislature thus far has passed three recovery funding bills totaling $1.1 billion. Federal assistance includes about $9 billion from a $110 billion package passed in December.
The amount of funding in the draft bill reviewed Tuesday is less than half the amount Gov. Josh Stein has asked the legislature to appropriate.
“Our most immediate need in North Carolina is helping the people in Western Carolina recover,” Gov. Josh Stein told the Council of State, which is comprised of state elected leaders. “The devastation there is tremendous.”
An estimated 8,000 private bridges were washed out by the storm, the governor said. Businesses that depend on tourists were hit with losses in their two busiest months of the years, October and December, Stein said.
In the earlier packages, the Disaster Recovery Act of 2024 passed Oct. 9. The $273 million package was mostly to different state agencies and local governments who can then use the money to help those most affected. It included $250 million for the state and local match of federal disaster assistance programs; $16 million for the Department of Public Instruction for school nutrition employee compensation; $5 million for the State Board of Elections Administration changes; and $2 million to the Office of State Budget and Management for grants.
The bill also included assistance in education; agriculture and environmental quality; transportation; retirements; taxes; the Department of Health and Human Services; and some election-related changes.
The Disaster Recovery Act of 2024 – Part II was passed Oct. 24. This legislation provided more than $877 million toward relief from Helene, and another $40 million for four storms. The largest portions were $100 million to the Local Government Commission, $100 million to the Department of Environmental Quality, and $75 million for state and local match of federal disaster assistance programs.
The third package, Disaster Relief-3/Budget/Various Law Changes, required a veto override to get through and has since been litigated. The legislation is 132 pages, the first 13 of which are related to Helene and the remainder for the “various law changes” that include shifting authorities from elected offices. The latter was the sticking point.
The federal assistance from two months ago does not include FEMA money, projected in the billions of dollars. The $9 billion is expected to help block development programs; farmers; infrastructure to include roads, highways and bridges; and drinking water infrastructure.
